Just when the dust from Week 1 of the NFL Season has began to settle, Week 2 has arrived.

It was a long seven months without football and we were treated to a lot of good action in the first week of the season.

But for the Cleveland Browns and Cincinnati Bengals, it was a week they surely would like to put behind them.

Cincinnati Bengals at Cleveland Browns

Line: Cleveland -6

Total: 43.5

 

Here We Go Again?

 

It’s a tale as old as time, the Cleveland Browns and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day. The Baker Mayfield led Browns opened the 2020 season the same way they opened the 2019 season - getting blown out.

The start to the season literally could not have been any worse as Mayfield threw an interception on the opening drive of the game, and after going three-and-out on the second drive, the Browns attempted a fake punt that came up well short.

Cleveland managed to find the endzone late in the first quarter but missed the PAT and that was a sign of things to come.

The Browns couldn’t generate any offence from there and lost 38-6 to the Baltimore Ravens, in a game that could’ve been called off after the opening half. 

Mayfield completed just 21 of 39 passes for a grand total of 189 yards and 1:1 TD to INT ratio.

He enters this Thursday Night matchup against the Bengals with over/under props of 239.5 passing yards, 1.5 passing touchdowns and 0.5 interceptions.

One thing we can take away from the Browns opening game was the usage of running back Kareem Hunt.

The 25-year-old had a bigger workload than Nick Chubb in Week 1 as he carried the ball 13 times for 72 yards and added four catches for nine yards. Yes, the Browns were down for most of the game and Hunt figures to play a bigger role as a pass-catching running back.

But this is a guy who led the NFL in rushing just three seasons ago, and his recent contract extensions says that this new general manager and head coach – two people who weren’t around when Chubb was drafted in 2018 – like the former Kansas City Chiefs running back, and his game.

Hunt’s over/under prop bets for Thursday night have been set at 41.5 rushing yards. Hunt averaged 5.54 yards per carry in Week 1 and his career yards-per-attempt of 4.7 yards says he needs just nine carries against the Bengals to get over that number.

 

Same old Bengals

 

Cincinnati Bengals bettors and Joe Burrow were *this* close away from cashing a Week 1 victory over the Los Angeles Chargers.

But a questionable pass interference call on A.J. Green took away the winning touchdown and, just seconds later, kicker Randy Bullock had an all-time missed field goal from 31 yards.

I’m sure you’ve seen it by now.

It probably wasn’t the NFL Debut that Burrow has dreamt of his entire life. The former LSU quarterback completed 23 of his 36 passes for only 193 yards and had a bad interception in the fourth quarter.  

Still, Burrow showed his ability to be a game changer and had the Bengals only TD of the day by picking it up on a 23-yard run in the opening quarter.

Vegas expects Burrow to have better production in his second career NFL start and has him set with an over/under of 236.5 passing yards and 1.5 touchdowns. 

With no preseason, and plenty of weapons at his disposal, it was unknown who would be the wide reciver to click with Burrow and take the WR1 role.

After the opening game of the season, Green is the front-runner to be that guy.

Green returned to the field for the first time since Week 13 of the 2018 season, and the wideout’s impact was immediate.

The 32-year-old led the team with nine targets, five receptions and 51 yards and was robbed of the sixth reception on the second-last play of the game.

Green enters the game with an over/under of 54.5 yards, 4.5 receptions and is +150 to score a touchdown while being +800 to have two or more scores in the game.

It’s a shame that injuries have kept Green off the field as much as they have in recent years.

If he is able to stay healthy, he and Burrow could have quite the connection and Green could return to his form that saw him surpass 1,000 yards in six of the first seven years of his career.

 

The Line

The Browns enter as a six-point favourite and that feels like a high number.

Cleveland was just 5-10-1 against the spread in 2019 and their Week 1 performance against the Ravens doesn’t exactly have me running to the window to lay the six points.

The only thing that has me leaning to a Browns win is what they did in Week 2 last season. After getting blown out by the Tennessee Titans, Cleveland bounced back on Thursday Night Football, beating the New York Jets 23-3.

On the flip side, the Bengals defence came to play in Week 1, and Burrow looked really settled in on his final drive of the game.

The quarterback is no stranger to a big audience either. The last time we saw Burrow on a nationally televised game, he was throwing for 463 yards and five touchdowns to win a national championship with LSU.

Pick: Browns

ATS Pick: Bengals +6